Coyote Hills Regional Park

From the Palo Alto Baylands, the Coyote Hills look like a low brown ridge floating on the far side of the bay. Up close they are a small range of grassy hills and chert outcrops with freshwater marsh on one side and salt ponds on the other. The East Bay Regional Park District dedicated the park in 1967. It now covers 1,266 acres just north of the Dumbarton Bridge in Fremont.

The park is best known for two things. One is the paved Bayview Trail, a flat-to-rolling loop popular with walkers, runners and families on bikes. The other is its deep Native history: the park protects 2,000-year-old shellmound sites of the Tuibun Ohlone people. Its visitor center and programs tell their story. This guide covers both, plus the drive, hours, fees and rules.

The Dumbarton Bridge drive

Coyote Hills is about 25 minutes from downtown Palo Alto. Take University Avenue or Willow Road to Highway 84 and cross the Dumbarton Bridge. The park district's directions from Interstate 880 work from the bridge too: on Highway 84, exit at Paseo Padre Parkway, turn right (north) and drive about one mile. Turn left on Patterson Ranch Road, which is the park entrance road. It leads to the picnic areas and visitor center.

The bridge is part of the outing. The current span opened in 1982 and carries a separated bike and pedestrian path on its south side. The original 1927 bridge, the first vehicle crossing of San Francisco Bay, survives in part as the Dumbarton Fishing Pier. Tolls are collected only westbound, so you pay on the way home: $8.50 in 2026 and $9.00 with FasTrak from January 1, 2027.

The closest BART station is Union City. Cyclists can reach the park from the bridge path through the wildlife refuge. Our East Bay travel guide covers the bridge and transit.

Hours and fees

• Park curfew: 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.
• Parking: $5 per vehicle, $5 per trailered vehicle, $25 per bus. Cash, Visa, MasterCard, Discover and tap to pay.
• Staging areas: besides the main entrance, the district lists the Quarry Staging Area and the Patterson Ranch Staging Area.

Check the official park page and the district's alerts page before you go. On October 31, 2026, the alerts page listed no closure at Coyote Hills itself.

The visitor center and the Ohlone village site

The visitor center is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The district says it opens on Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day and closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Inside, exhibits portray the Ohlone way of life. The centerpiece is a tule reed boat built by park staff and volunteers using Native American methods. Other displays cover the park's natural history and wildlife.

The district describes the park as preserving 2,000-year-old Tuibun Ohlone shellmound sites with important archaeological resources. These are not open for casual wandering. Wikipedia notes that visitors can see the sites by arrangement and that programs at the main shellmound site show a reconstructed tule house, shade shelter, pit house and sweat lodge. Ask the visitor center at (510) 544-3220 which village site programs are on the calendar.

An annual Gathering of Ohlone Peoples highlights how today's Ohlone people carry their cultures forward. Our history of the Ohlone explains who lived on the Palo Alto side of the bay before 1769.

Trail names in Chochenyo

On November 27, 2022, the park district celebrated new trail markers carrying names in Chochenyo, the language of the park's first peoples. The district says Coyote Hills, Máyyan Šaatošikma, is the ancestral homeland of the Tuibun Ohlone. The Muwékma Ohlone Tribe Language Committee began the project in 2016. Some of the new names:

• Bayview Trail: Síi ’Imñom ’Ommu
• Red Hill Trail: Púltéewis Šáatoš
• Lizard Rock Trail: ’Ipíhwa ’írek
• Muskrat Trail: Ramés
• Quail Trail: Hekšen

Trails: Bayview, the boardwalk and Red Hill

Bayview Trail

The 3.5-mile Bayview Trail is a paved loop for hiking and bicycling around the hills. The western side follows the shoreline with views over salt marsh and the bay to the Peninsula hills. Bikes are allowed on the Bayview Trail inside the park. It connects to 12 more miles of trail on the south levee of the Alameda Creek Trail and to the wildlife refuge.

Marsh Boardwalk

The Marsh Boardwalk crosses the freshwater marsh near the visitor center. It is a good short walk with kids and a natural spot to look for marsh birds. Dogs are not allowed in marsh areas.

Red Hill and the ridge

For a climb, take the trail up Red Hill. The district says the hilltops give views of San Francisco Bay and the Peninsula hills to the west. Wikipedia adds that on clear days you can pick out three bay bridges and Mount Tamalpais. Our sunset spots guide covers the view in the other direction.

Into the refuge

The Shoreline, No Name, Apay Way and Alameda Creek trails lead into the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Apay Way crosses a bridge over the Highway 84 toll booths to the refuge visitor center. The Alameda Creek Trail runs 12 miles from the bay to the mouth of Niles Canyon along the park's north side, with horses on the north levee and bikes on the south.

Dogs, bikes and horses

• Dogs: district rules require a leash of 6 feet or less in parking lots, picnic areas, developed areas and on paved trails. The same applies within 200 feet of any trailhead. That covers the Bayview Trail. Dogs are not permitted in wetlands or marsh areas. In undeveloped open space they may be off leash only if under voice control. Older guides mention a per-dog fee at Coyote Hills; the current park page lists only parking fees, so bring cash just in case.
• Bikes: the paved Bayview Trail and the regional trails that connect to it. Wikipedia says 3.5 miles of the park are open to cyclists.
• Horses: the district lists horseback riding as a park activity. The Alameda Creek Trail has an equestrian levee.
• Picnics and camping: first come picnic tables with braziers at the visitor center and the Quarry Staging Area. Hoot Hollow can be reserved. The Dairy Glen group camp holds 50 people and must be reserved at least 3 business days ahead.

From shellmounds to missiles

The district sums up a long history: Mission-era and settler ranching, salt production, a duck hunting club, a dairy, rock quarrying, a Nike missile site and a biosonar research facility. Wikipedia says the Stanford Research Institute used the former missile site and marshes for sonar research with marine mammals, including dolphins, until the mid-1960s. See our SRI International page for the institute's Palo Alto roots. The Dairy Glen camp is named for the dairy farmers of the 1800s.

Seasons and safety

The park is busy in spring, summer and fall, the district says, but winter has its own beauty, with migrating ducks in the marsh and green hills after the rains. Summer afternoons bring wind and full sun. There is little shade on the hills. Bring water and a layer.

What pairs nearby

• Don Edwards refuge: walk Apay Way to the refuge visitor center and the LaRiviere Marsh Trail.
• Alameda Creek Trail: ride east along the levee toward Niles.
• Birdwatching: compare the marsh birds here with the Palo Alto Baylands.

Frequently asked questions